Watch CBS News

Some Are Afraid New Metal Joints Are Slowly Poisoning Them

DENVER (CBS4) - There are growing concerns about metal-on-metal hip replacements and one company has already recalled one model.

Those particular replacements may not last as long as other devices and they could be poisoning patients who have the hip.

De Puy has already recalled one model, the ASR Hip. About 93,000 people around the world have that particular hip. It's estimated half a million people have metal on metal hips. One of them is Katie Ayers. Pain pushed her to get the replacement when she was just 36.

"It was supposed to be the latest and greatest," she told CBS4 health specialist Kathy Walsh. "It was supposed to be perfect for a younger female and it all sounded great to me."

But the process turned out not to be so great. The artificial hip was recalled three years after Ayers' procedure. That's when Ayers found metal-on-metal implants can shed tiny particles of metal as they wear. Tests showed she had elevated levels of cobalt and chromium in her blood.

"They ... the medical community ... don't really know what this elevated levels can do to your system," she said.

Data shows the particular hip, the DePuy ASR, failed within six years in nearly one third of patients in Great Britain. The company recalled it last year. Ayers has since replaced her implant and hired a lawyer.

"I thought I was going to have 15, 20 years before I had to do it again," Ayers said.

There are plenty of attorneys advertising for clients to take part in lawsuits as the issue of the full metal hip replacements heats up.

Denver orthopedic surgeon Dr. Ted Parks works at Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center. He has performed hip replacements for 17 years and said he has never used metal-on-metal replacements despite how promising they looked in the beginning. He agrees it now appears there are some problems with metal on metal hip joints.

The Food and Drug Administration has ordered prosthesis manufacturers to research and find out if the devices are making people sick.

Ayer's hip implant was approved through the FDA's 510 (K) process, that means devices are approved more quickly if they are "substantially equivalent" to existing products. Some experts worry about that process.

"The problem is most of these devices have never undergone human testing prior to getting on the market," said Dr. Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic.

But testing the devices can take a long time.

"Hip replacements and knee replacements are unique in that to really prove you're good, you need big numbers of patients to walk around on these things for 30 to 40 years," Dr. Parks explained.

As for Ayers, her blood levels are back to normal but like thousands of others, she worries that damage could have already been done.

"I think there's got to be a better way than what's already out there."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.